The Akron Zips will be searching for the first victory of the season as they travel to Dix Stadium Tuesday night to face off against the undefeated Kent State Golden Flashes.
These two teams seem to be on opposite sides of the standings as the Zips have been allowing teams to score in droves. Akron will have freshman Zach Gibson under center, who is looking to figure things out. He is 36-of-60 for 343 yards but has two touchdowns to three interceptions. Two of those interceptions happened last week against Miami-Ohio so it’ll be interesting to see how he looks out of the gate against the Golden Flashes defense. On the other sideline is senior Dustin Crum has been looking solid so far this season and looks to continue in his final year under center for Kent State. He is 39-of-56 for 490 yards with six touchdowns to one interception. He is coming off a dominant victory over Bowling Green where he threw for four touchdowns.
The defenses are also two completely different stories so far this season as the Zips are allowing 41 points per game and the Golden Flashes are allowing a respectable 23.5 points. The defenses allow nearly the same amount of yardage but Kent State holding teams to field goals compared to the Zips is the biggest difference for these two programs. The Golden Flashes defeated the Zips 26-3 last season and since the Zips won this head-to-head matchup in 2018 in overtime, the program is 1-19. Kent State has proven to be excellent with their six-game winning streak heading into this one. Is there a chance for an upset? Let’s dive into the numbers.
Line Movements:
The line has moved toward the hosts in this one, furthering their favorite status as the week has gone on. Kent State opened as a hefty 22.5-point favorite when the lines came out and, as of Tuesday, is favored by 26.5 or 27 points depending on what sportsbook you’re looking at. 64 percent of the bets ATS are backing the Golden Flashes and giving the points as the home team in this contest.
The total for this contest has stayed flat this week. After opening at 58.5 points, the total remains at that 58.5-point mark at most sportsbooks, though you might find it at 58 somewhere. A solid 60 percent of the bets on the total are expecting this contest to climb over the mark.
Game-time Weather: Temperature at kickoff is expected to be in the mid-30s for this contest under cloudy skies. The temperature will slip slightly into the low-30s with the real-feel dropping into the high-20s as the game continues with less than a five percent chance of precipitation in the forecast for the evening. There was heavy snow in the forecast Tuesday morning, so there could be the white stuff floating around. Winds are from the southeast around six miles an hour with the gusts ending up topping out not much higher than that, around the eight mile per hour mark.
Establish the Run Early
The Akron Zips are one of the few teams that actually average more rushing yards per game than passing yards. It helps when you have someone like junior Teon Dollard starting in your backfield and getting a majority of the carries. He has run the ball 38 times this season for 232 yards but has yet to find the endzone. To average 6.1 yards per carry is nothing to scoff at either as their main back. He is coming off a solid game against Miami-Ohio where he had a career-high in both rushing attempts (22) and yards (165) so be on the lookout for number 7 to get some solid chunks of yardage every time he touches the football.
Kent State has allowed 160.5 rushing yards a game so far this season and four rushing touchdowns, This has the potential to be a solid game for Dollard as long as the game stays manageable and the Zips are not forced to depend solely on the passing attack due to the game script. There is a chance that Dollard could put on a show in the backfield but it’ll be interesting to see how Kent State decides to defend against the run. Will they sell out in the passing game to eliminate Dollard’s effect on the offense or will they allow him to take tiny chunks of yards throughout to keep the clock moving and maintain a lead? One thing is for certain, if Dollard can get his fingerprint on the game, it’s a great sign for the Zips offense.
Akron Injury Report:
Questionable: RB Cole Gest, QB Kato Nelson
Jumping for McKoy
In college football, athletic receivers can dominate because the rules allow them to. Junior Isaiah McKoy is dominating the beginning portion of the 2020 season as he has recorded 14 receptions for 178 yards and three touchdowns. He is proving to be a dominant receiver for this offense and hasn’t broken for a huge play, as his long is just 32 yards. He is leading the Golden Flashes in catches, yards and touchdowns so if the Zips want to figure out a map to victory, it has to start with limiting McKoy’s production in the offense.
The Zips are actually not getting beat in the passing game as much as you would think when examining the numbers. They have only allowed 194 passing yards a game so far this season. No team has thrown more than 20 passing attempts against them, instead electing to run the ball. The secondary of the Zips isn’t that intimidating as they haven’t recorded an interception and just a pair of pass deflections through two games. If the score stays relatively close, expect McKoy to get a good amount of targets and feast on the secondary.
